Background

Decisions on how to invest scarce resources in CGIAR-NARES genetic innovation systems have been predominantly supply-driven and therefore potentially out-of-sync with the demands of smallholders, consumers, and agroindustry. The turnover of improved crop varieties developed by CGIAR and its NARES partners (National Agricultural Research and Extension Services) has been slow. Small-scale seed businesses lack incentives to actively promote new varieties given weak demand. Little is known about the drivers of varietal replacement and product substitution, and the role of downstream market actors such as traders, processors and consumers in this process.

The CGIAR Market Intelligence initiative aims to maximize returns on investment in breeding and seed systems based on reliable and timely market intelligence that enables stronger demand orientation and strengthens co-ownership and co-implementation by CGIAR and partners. To achieve these objectives, one of its work packages is generating intelligence on what drives farmers, consumers, and private-sector decisions to adopt new varieties, as input for inclusive target product profiling, and determining essential and nice-to-have traits, as well as gender impacts.

In this context, IFPRI is hiring a consultant to lead global qualitative research activities and to finalize qualitative research outputs.

Scope of work

The consultant will lead the development of various research outputs that summarize evidence from qualitative research conducted in the implementation countries in 2023. The consultant will be responsible for:

• • Facilitating a “feedback workshop series” in which qualitative focal points will share highlights from their country-research results. To favor harmonization across presentations, a slide-deck will be prepared and shared by the consultant with the qualitative focal points. The workshop series will enable to explore cross-country linkages around specific behavioral constraints and approaches that emerge as either common across countries or as country-specific (activity to feed into “Milestone 2”).
  • Developing a behavioral intelligence-glossary to enable a shared understanding of the concepts that are more critical for WP3-analysis’ purposes (in collaboration with WP3-Theory & Methods Lead) [Milestone 1].
  • Developing a draft illustrating the strategy adopted to analyze gender-specific aspects of behavioral intelligence and presenting the results of the cross-country qualitative analysis. [Milestone 2].
  • Presenting the results of the qualitative study at a conference/webinar [Milestone 3].

Required qualifications of the consultant

• • Advanced degree (PhD) in social anthropology or a related field.
  • Demonstrated experience conducting gender and qualitative field work in sub-Saharan Africa.
  • Demonstrated expertise in conducting gender and qualitative training and supervision.
  • Experience working within interdisciplinary teams, particularly in the field of crop breeding.
  • In-depth knowledge of gender issues in crop breeding and good understanding of the behavioral aspects affecting varietal uptake.
  • Experience with gender and qualitative data analyses and in developing frameworks to grasp gender issues in agriculture.
  • Experience developing and integrating gender questions and qualitative research tools in RCTs.
  • Experience designing and supervising cross-country gender research.
  • Experience working with, supervising, and hiring more junior qualitative researchers, to support in the implementation of the work.
  • Proof of knowledge in Atlas.ti for qualitative data analysis.

Preferred qualifications

• • Experience working with international and national researchers.
  • Experience co-authoring reports and other publications.
  • Previous work experience conducting gender research in the CGIAR or other international organizations will be an asset.

Application Deadline: July 18, 2023